Hatfield, Tong To Face Off For Attorney General

A three-way race among Democrats for Attorney General pitted the party-endorsed candidate, state Rep. William Tong against rivals Chris Mattei, a former federal prosecutor and state Sen. Paul Doyle. From left: Tong, Mattei and Doyle. (File photos)

Voters in Tuesday’s primary backed both the Democratic and Republican endorsed candidates in races for attorney general, treasurer and comptroller.

Democrat William Tong, a state representative and commercial litigator, will face Republican Sue Hatfield, a longtime prosecutor, in the November election for attorney general.

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Tong, 45, was declared the winner in a three-way race Tuesday, besting opponents Chris Mattei, a former federal prosecutor, and state Sen. Paul Doyle, a Wethersfield attorney, according to the Associated Press.

Hatfield, 46, easily fended off a challenge from John Shaban, a Redding attorney and former state representative.

Tong is the first Asian-American nominee from any party to the position of attorney general in Connecticut, and he said Tuesday that he was proud of how far he had come.

“It’s been a long road from my parents’ Chinese restaurant to here,” Tong, 45, said. “I’m excited to spend some time with my kids and my wife before getting to work for the general election.”

The attorney general race among the Democrats had a heavy focus on Trump, against whose administration current Attorney General George Jepsen, a Democrat, has 22 cases pending on a broad range of topics.

Both Tong and Mattei released ads in which they pledged to take on Trump. Those ads were met with criticism from the GOP, which said such ads were not permissible based on public finance laws for candidates. Doyle said taking on Trump was an important part of the job, but not all of the job.

Hatfield is considered the closest candidate to President Donald Trump after serving as a delegate for him during the 2016 Republican National Convention, but she said her victory was not about the president.

“This about Connecticut and what’s best for our state,” she said Tuesday. “Our voters want someone who truly cares about our state, who has the strongest legal background on both sides of the aisle, and that’s me.”

The Republicans saw Trump as a distraction from the problems Connecticut is facing. Hatfield said she was focusing more on bettering Connecticut and less on what is happening in the White House. Shaban said, “I may disagree or agree with the president on certain policies, but that is not the AG’s role.”

In the state treasurer’s race, Democrat Shawn Wooden, endorsed by the party, was backed by voters Tuesday, beating back a challenge from Dita Bhargava, a hedge fund portfolio manager from Greenwich.

“I’m thrilled that Democrats across the state nominated me to run in November, recognizing my experience with public pension plans and commitment to working people,” Wooden said. “The state has a real choice with the Democratic team nominated tonight, and it will be a stark contrast to the Republicans.”

Wooden, 49, is expected to face Republican Thad Gray, who claimed victory over challenger Sen. Art Linares in a GOP primary for treasurer Tuesday. Gray, endorsed at the GOP convention earlier this year, is a former chief investment officer for a fund manager.

The four candidates sought to replace longtime Treasurer Denise Nappier, who chose not to run for re-election. The primary race was a battle over every dollar, with each candidate focusing of different elements of their fiscal prowess to win over voters.

Gray, 58, called his victory a “tremendous credit to Republican voters,” and he pointed out that he didn’t spend money from taxpayers, unlike his opponent. The victory Tuesday made him even more confident for his chances in November.

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“Let’s be honest. Connecticut has more Democrats than Republicans, but I don’t think it’s going to come down to that,” Gray said. “I think voters have been dissatisfied with the past 20 or more years of Democrats getting us into these problems, and I think they’re ready to change that.”

In the race for comptroller, the Republican-endorsed candidate, Kurt Miller, 48, emerged victorious in a close primary challenge Tuesday, edging out Mark Greenberg.

Miller, the four-term first selectman of Seymour, will take on incumbent Democrat Kevin Lembo in the general election. The comptroller’s duties include overseeing state financial reports and managing state employee benefits.

“It’s exciting to know message wins over money,” Miller said. “I’m glad our message, what we said to voters, I’m glad it resonated in Connecticut.”

The loss is the latest in a string for Greenberg, a wealthy real estate investor and businessman. Greenberg unsuccessfully ran for the 5th Congressional seat three times.

In the GOP primary for U.S. Senate seat, Matthew Corey, a Republican small business owner and the party-endorsed candidate emerged victorious Tuesday but faces a tough task ahead in November when he’ll be running against Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy.

Corey, 54, was in Manchester on Tuesday and said that while he was emotionally exhausted, it felt good to have worked toward a victory.

“My hat’s off to [opponent] Dominic Rapini,” Corey said. “We both worked hard to move Connecticut forward, and I’m looking forward to working with him in the future.”

Corey said Murphy is too focused on the national stage and isn’t paying enough attention to the needs of his constituents at home.